The Body Language of Advent - Leaping (Luke 2:8-20) 🕯 🕯 🕯

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Angels and shepherds go together like cider and cinnamon. But they're very, very different from each other. 

They start in different places.  

The angels begin the story on high in the throne room of heaven, getting instructions from God himself. The shepherds start out low down on the earth, in the grit and the tedium of their lives, doing what has to be done. 

The angels begin with wonder and confidence. The shepherds begin with fear.  

The angels, when they look at the world, see a great swath of eternity because eternity is the water that they swim. It's where they were created in the first place. The shepherds could only see moment by moment what their eyes can see by firelight, by starlight, by sunlight what their brains can process and capture. 

They begin in very different places, but they end up responding to God's story in exactly the same way: by leaping 

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Who were the angels?  

Angels are a distinct group of created beings. When we go to heaven, we don't become angels. We are still humans, but in eternity. Angels are their own thing. God created them before humanity took our first breath. They live in the presence of God, which we can't even really imagine. But they just live there. It's just home.  

Angels are described in different ways throughout the Bible. There are Seraphim, described as blazing and powerful. They are the “burning ones” with 6 wings, and with voices that shake the temple of God.  

There are Cherubim: strong and faithful servants of God, guarding the entrances to the sacred and holy places. The veil in the ancient temple was woven with images of Cherubim, keeping people away from the ark of the covenant, the most holy object in the history of Israel, which humanity wasn't even allowed to touch. Cherubim keep humanity from finding the way back into Eden. We've spoiled our relationship with that place, and must be kept from making things any worse. 

Other angels don't have specific taxonomy, but we see them bringing care and support. To the prophet Elijah when he was on the run for his life. To Jesus on His knees in Gethsemane, begging for His life. Angels came and comforted them. 

Other angels bring messages and make announcements. At the tomb when Jesus was resurrected, and at the ascension, when Jesus was taken back into heaven. In the nativity story, angels again and again announce, declare, tell people what they need to do and what's going to happen next. Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph all have encounters with message-bringing angels.  

The shepherds were out there in the field minding their own business, and suddenly the glory of the Lord shone around them... and they were afraid.  

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So who were these shepherds?  

When you think about Christmas shepherds, you probably think of 10 year old in his dad's bathrobe walking down the aisle with a tea towel on his head. These shepherds were grown-ups. They were blue-collar workers. They were probably rough-living guys. 

They may have been men, or they may have been a mix of men and women because women did this work as well. Some shepherds in that era were subsistence farmers—small landholders who grew enough food to live on, but who needed that extra bit of income, so they would hire themselves out. 

These particular shepherds (because of where they were working: near Bethlehem, which is quite close to Jerusalem) may very well have been raising sheep intended for use in Temple sacrifices by pilgrims coming from around the nation. If they worked for the Temple, their lambs and rams had to be very carefully cared for. They had to be perfect when presented for sale at the Temple. 

These shepherds lived and worked within a triangle formed by Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, and the Herodium.  

Point 1 on the triangle—the Herodium—was a small mountain that King Herod was carving out and transforming into a tribute to himself. Herod was a terrible king. He was a bad husband. A bad father. What he was really good at was building. He was really, really good at spending other people's money and making himself look good. The Herodium was a palace and a fortress: solid and impenetrable outside, luxurious and safe inside. When the shepherds worked in the fields outside Bethlehem, when they looked about 5 km to the southeast on a clear day, they could probably see Herod’s great tribute to himself. 

Point 2 on the triangle was the city of Jerusalem, the city of God. Again, built on a mountain. At the top, the highest point, was the 15-storey high Temple, made of white marble and accented with gold. When the shepherds were working in the hills near Bethlehem, I think on a clear day they could probably look about 10 km to the northeast and see the sunlight, or the sunset, reflecting against the Temple in the city that was the heart of their own people. The heart of their faith.  

The Herodium was a centre of political power and personal pride. Jerusalem was the centre of faith and worship for Jewish men and women. 

Point 3 of the triangle was the little town of Bethlehem. Not usually much of a destination.  

From out in the fields, I think these shepherds must have had a perfect view to watch the world go by. The wealthy, the outcasts, the regular working people. The villains, the families, the Roman troops marching back and forth between important places.  

These shepherds would have been people who learned the Torah—God's law. They would have memorized sections of it. Would have done their best to keep the festivals as their work schedule permitted. Would have learned the prophecies and the promises about Messiah. These were ordinary, faithful people just doing their jobs and waiting for the Deliverer of their people. 

Then one night they met the angels. And the angels met the shepherds.  

The eternals met the time-bound. The powerful met the powerless. Those who stood in the presence of God met those who could only wait and imagine. 

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When we see the shepherds in manger scenes, we see them sitting or standing still. Sometimes kneeling. That image doesn’t represent what shepherds mostly did. Shepherds didn't live standing still. They worked running and walking and lifting and carrying and seeking and finding and herding... They were constantly in motion from one place to another, looking for the right pasture for their sheep to graze, taking them to the water, taking them to the Temple, taking them to the corral. These guys were always doing. Going. On the move. 

But in our manger scenes, they’re still. They're pausing. They're taking a moment to think about all of this. To process. To understand. 

What happened next? They leapt to their feet. The text says that they “hurried” here, and they “went quickly” there. They were on a mission because they had found what they were looking for, and they were going to go and tell everybody: their friends, their coworkers, the people in the temple, the people in town. They leapt into action to tell people what they had found. 

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It began with one angel, given a message to deliver, who leapt to obey.  

Then countless other angels leapt into action and leapt into song, singing “Glory to God in the highest; peace and goodwill.” 

Then the shepherds leapt to their feet to go and find the child. 

After they had found the child, they “went quickly” to find people to tell this wonderful, amazing, good news. Their voices leapt from their throats to fill the air, connecting in eternity with the words that are recorded by the apostle John: 

Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. And their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. In a loud voice they were saying: 

“Worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour and glory and blessing!” 

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: 

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be praise and honour and glory and power, Forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:11-13) 

John heard every creature in heaven and on earth. Which means John heard us.  

We don't see us in the manger scene. We are in this story. We are living God’s story. We are living this moment of joy, and this moment of mystery. It's ours. It's yours. It's mine. 

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Fast-forward 30 years or so from this manger moment: 

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead...’" (Matthew 28:5-7) 

That is the command that we receive from God. The angels and the shepherds, and you and me. That is our message. “Come and see.” Come and see who He is. Come and see the confirmation of lives transformed. Come and see the proof of the goodness that is in the world. Come and see love, joy, peace, and hope. Come and see where it all comes from.  

Pause and consider. 

Then go and tell.  

He is not in the tomb. He has risen from the dead.  

He is not in the manger. He is alive in the world He made. He is alive in the hearts of people who call themselves by His name. He is alive in the hearts of those who hear His message, and who come and see.  

It's time for us to leap into action. To let the words leap from our lips. To let our voices leap out into song.  

The Lord has come. It's time for us to leap with joy.  

To hear the full message: